Premium Vapes Review

By Dave S. Posted January 6, 2013

Premium Vapes initially seems like a fairly generic brand, but the ecig does have good vapor production, a huge selection of flavors and a wide range of nicotine levels. The battery life holds the brand back a little though.

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Editor Rating

User Rating

Pros

Cons

Some flavors may be too strong for new vapers

Battery life and responsiveness needs improvement

Bottom Line

Premium Vapes offers 20 flavor options, five nicotine levels (including 24mg) and excellent vapor production for a reasonable price. It’s a very good e-cig overall, but the battery life does let it down. It might not have the might of Green Smoke or V2, but it’s definitely a viable option.

Price:$49.95

Premium Vapes Review: Editor's Opinion

Premium Vapes has been around since 2008, and has built up a firm reputation as one of the market leading producers of e-cigarettes. Their PR110 Starter Kit is their most popular product because it has everything a smoker needs to make the change, including two batteries, USB charger, wall adapter and five cartomizers. With a strong product, ample flavor options and potential for customization, Premium Vapes could have produced a landmark product, but you can’t make your decision based on reputation alone.

Packaging and Design

The Starter Kit comes in a jewelry box-sized container, with a similarly sleek felt-lined interior. In the upper, foam-protected layer you’ll find one e-cig battery and a packet of cartomizers, with another battery and the charging components in the lower section. The box is fairly minimalistic in design, with a black and silver color scheme throughout. It may not be particularly eye-catching, but it oozes confidence and screams quality.

Premium Vapes use a two-piece design, so the combined atomizer and cartridge screws directly into the battery. There are four slim openings in the silver band separating the two components when it’s assembled, creating a cigarette-like inhalation sound without any wheezing or whistling. The LED tip lights up a pale red as you inhale, mimicking the smoking experience accurately. Premium Vapes has really set itself aside with the options for battery design, with 14 color options ranging from plain white and black through to purple, platinum and more outlandish designs such as green camouflage and brown marble.

Nicotine Levels

You get the choice between five nicotine levels for Premium Vapes’ cartridges, 0mg, 6mg, 11mg, 16mg and 24mg. This gives those who want to try to cut down their nicotine intake plenty of options, including the useful nicotine-free option so you can simulate the smoking experience without any addictive chemicals. On the other side, the heaviest smokers have a strong option to ensure that their nicotine needs are met without overworking the battery. Realistically, though, the 16mg cartridges are likely to be enough for the majority of smokers.

Flavors and Vapor

You’ll be more than happy with the amount of vapor you get from the Premium Vapes e-cig. It’s genuinely comparable to the level you’d expect from a tobacco cigarette, and you get a decent throat-hit along with it. Although you’re advised to prime the atomizer with a couple of introductory puffs, it isn’t necessary for a satisfying amount of vapor with the Premium electronic cigarette product. You get an authentic smoking experience without the tar and off-putting odors.

The flavor range provided by Premium Electronic Cigarette is extensive, to say the least. They have a massive 20 flavor options in total, with everything from their signature tobacco blend to cherry, pineapple, vanilla, pear clove and cola. The taste is consistently robust, and although this may be too much for some vapers, it makes for some fantastic options. The coffee is great, boasting a hint of chocolate but still maintaining the underlying punch you expect, like sipping mocha. The tobacco flavor is a strong attempt, but it misses the mark slightly as the vast majority of companies do. However, adjusting to the difference is easy, and you’ll barely notice it by the time you come to the end of your first cartridge.

Battery

A charge of either of the included batteries will give you around 200 to 250 puffs. This may fall short of the market-leading batteries, but you’ll have plenty of power to get you through an average day of vaping. The two you receive are the same size, so there aren’t long and short options like some manufacturers offer. When you need to charge a battery (it flashes red to let you know the power is low), simply screw it into the USB charger, plug it in and wait for the LED light to change from red to green. It often does some disco-style flickering between the two before switching to solid green, but it charges pretty quickly so the period of uncertainty is more than made up for.

Premium Vapes Review, 2.7 out of 5 based on 6 ratings

Editor Rating

Packaging & Design

Flavor

Vapor

Battery

Overall

Overall

Premium Vapes is a solid offering, combining significant vapor production with a robust and diverse selection of flavors and some cool battery designs. The throat-hit and nicotine levels will please even the heavier smokers, so it’s more than adequate for those first switching to vaping. The Starter Kit and replacement cartomizers are affordable, so it’s particularly worthy of consideration for anybody on a budget.

All User Reviews

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Average Rating

User Reviews

Don't buy this brand

There are air slots in the cartridge that let in so much air the battery doesn’t even respond. Covering all but part of one of the slots let the thing work but there’s minimal vapor.

D Spence

Commented on November 8, 2014

leaking cartomizers

Leaking in one to five of the cartomizers in each package of five. The batteries need recharging twice a day. Will not order again!

vjb

Commented on August 14, 2014

I have been using Premium for close to 2 years now and have enjoyed. Minus one time there was a 2 and half delivery time, I have nothing bad to say.

But now, I cannot get the website to come up. I got a message for a few days saying to call in order due to site being down. But now, can’t get anything to come up.

g nayr

Commented on May 18, 2014

Wrote a review a little over a year ago, and I really regret the high rating I left then. They went so far downhill I had to re-write a review. The customer service department is terrible. The quality of the product did a complete 180.(Batteries sucked, cartridges tasted terrible if there was a taste at all, and I actually got carts which were complete duds.) I had spent plenty of money with them, but it quickly became clear they had no interest in keeping any repeat customers. Luckily a family owned DIY place opened up down the street from me, so I got a nice vaporizer setup and am very happy with them. If you live in the Gloucester township area check out MODE eCigs on 168! Very friendly and helpful staff. (No I don’t work for them, just really like the company)

Jillian

Commented on March 15, 2014

Cartridges don't last as long

After reading the other reviews, I’m glad to see it’s not me, and they wouldn’t let me put a 1-star review up of their Irish Creme, which I thought tasted like burnt popcorn. They don’t have e-liquid, either, so it’s time to research other brands.

Sarah Lee

Commented on January 18, 2014

Poor Quality

I agree with many of the posts stating that the quality of the Premium e-cig has gone downhill fast. My husband and I had been using this brand for two years and initially, they were pretty reliable. However, within the last 6 months or so we noticed that out of every three batteries we purchase, at least one was defective Luckily, the store that we purchase them from has a 30 day return policy. It just got to be too much hassle though as a person should be able to reasonably expect that the product they’re purchasing is without defect (except in rare cases). We’ve recently switched to a personal vaporizers that are refillable and we are much happier. This brand will soon be out of business if they continue to produce crappy product and treat the customers that they have left with disrespect.

mike

Commented on October 27, 2013

Quality Has Decreased

I began using the Premium E-Cigs in 2010. I was really pleased with how well they worked and have not smoked a real cigarette since. But during the past year, I’ve noticed a lot of inconsistency with their cartridges – specifically, the taste. I’m running into a lot of cartridges lately that taste like candle wax or solder. I suppose that’s alright if you enjoy the taste of candle wax or solder. Me? not so much. And the cartridges seem to go empty much faster lately, even though I haven’t changed my vaping habits. That said, I’ve decided to switch to a DIY setup. I’ve enjoyed the convenience of Premium’s prepped-and-ready-to-go cartridges, but they simply aren’t “prepped” all that well anymore.

Mppillow

Commented on October 22, 2013

Terrible customer service

Called customer service to complain that I did not receive my order and spoke to customer service rep Deneen. She basically yelled at me and told me that I did receive it when I did not. She spoke over me and preceded to yell at me so I hung up. When I called back I was told Deneen was a supervisor. Imagine that. Do not purchase from this company because they don’t deliver and then treat you like S#%¥ when you call them on it!

MoonSwanni

Commented on September 17, 2013

Smoking Air

This is a product that will deter people from eCigs. It’s like smoking air and the batteries are not that great.

Cyan

Commented on September 13, 2013

Tasteless

My sister gave me a pack of the vanilla cartridges a while back. I really liked them, in fact they were my favorite brand so I ordered the boxes at price of over $35. The first cartridge tasted really funny, so I contacted customer support. Was told to try different cartridges from different packs, and to try different batteries. I did all of that and each cartridge either tasted like rotten bourbon or had no taste at all. Contacted customer support and told them what I found. They told me to send the carts back (at my expense) and they would test them. If they were found to be faulty they would refund my money. They also said I could return ANY UNOPENED PACKS! After they told me to open them! What a joke.

Trapper

Commented on August 16, 2013

I have not tried other e-Cigs yet… but I can say that these are not bad and I could see myself going without cigs in the near future. Probably not with this brand, but again, they are not bad!

I must say though, I bought 1 Starter kit at my local gas station and did not spend $50 plus like I see some prices! If that was the case, I would be a bit unhappy! I got my starter kit for $14.99 and the same gas station sells the batteries alone for $8.99 and the 5 pack cartridges for $7.99

I did shop around some and found other gas stations with higher prices and on the internet, the prices were/are way too high!

I suggest you go to a couple gas station/cigarette stores and try the Premium brand out, but shop around and find a starters kit (1 battery, charger, and a couple cartomizers) for $15-$16

JB

Commented on July 25, 2013

I have had great luck with the Premium ecig. I used to smoke anywhere from a half to one oack a day. Ive been smoke free for about 6 months. The only thing I didn’t like was having to buy their refill cartomizers. Well I have figured out that you can use a screw or something similar like an ez-out to pull the end cap off and then the seal inside. This allows you to refill your own cartomizers….way cheaper!!!!! Sorry Premium but this is only right in my mind to share!

Jeff williams

Commented on July 16, 2013

The battery is too expensive for the month it lasts

The battery goes out after three to four weeks and I have purchased four. There should be a policy where you can send in a couple of these that dont work and get one that does for free

jason

Commented on July 15, 2013

please help

Seems like i’m sucking air in. I get vapor but just doesn’t seem right. Anyone else have this problem? should I try tightening it more? I put my fingers over it and it works good. I have 2 batteries they are both like that

Kimberly B.

Commented on July 10, 2013

I am Happy

good product, nice flavor choices (not as tasty as Blu, but still good) and excellent customer service! they were ordered on the 6th of July and I received them on the 10th. I am one happy customer and will stick with Premium. I just wish I knew about these cigarettes in 2008 – I’d be a 5 year-quitter of tobacco instead of one!

Kris

Commented on June 29, 2013

I am happy with Premium

I like Premium. Good vapor, nice variety of flavors, and charges pretty rapidly. Their different flavors that I’ve tried have mostly been very good, although coffee is a bit off, and caramel is just too weakly-flavored. But clove, pear, and blueberry are awesome. And regular tobacco is quite tasty as well.

Gvix

Commented on June 18, 2013

Not worth wasting your money

They have pretty colored batteries and nice flavoring BUT LOTS of faulty products that get shipped to you. And when you receive their faulty products they make you pay to ship their faulty product back in order to get replacement for it. I threw away 2 of my cartridges not thinking they want it back when I emailed them it had nothing in it and they are giving every excuse not to replace them. I also a few years back got a few faulty batteries and had to send those back with my expense. One top of that just today I received a full pack of cartridges that did not work. Let them know and they want me to ship,with my expense again, back to them. Not great customer service either. I am not wasting my time with them anymore. Do not waste your time or money ordering from them. THEY RIP YOU OFF. Not worth it especially when there are other companies out there that will not give you a hard time and treats their customers better.

Randy

Commented on April 24, 2013

Ordered a Black Label e-cigar from this company. Received it promptly and was excited to try it. Nothing happened. No matter how hard I inhaled, nothing came out, nothing lit up, nothing happened. Since it was after their business hours, I sent an e-mail to let them know. Received an e-mail the following afternoon apologizing but stating they were out of Black Label. I could have a Red Label or my money back. I replied I’d like a Red Label. After a week of no reply and nothing in my mailbox, I sent an e-mail asking about the status. They claimed that they never received my reply from the week before and now they were out of stock on both. I would also need to return the defective e-cigar. I replied that I would take whichever color label they got in stock first and please send me something to return the defective e-cigar in. Never heard back so I called this time. Talked to someone who told me they have Red Label in stock but they would not ship it until I return the old one. I said I need something to return it in and was told I have to pay for that myself. When I questioned why I should pay to return something that they shipped me that didn’t work, she said it was so they could test it to make sure it really was defective and not something I smoked and then tried to return. OK, not very trusting but I can accept that. I asked if I would be reimbursed for shipping when their test showed the e-cigar was defective and I wasn’t trying to rip them off. I was told no. I expressed how I didn’t think it was right that I had to pay for their defective product and all I got was “That’s company policy”. So I’ll return the defective e-cigar they sent me and see if they even ship me one that works or just keep my money. Either way, I will find a company that actually cares for their customers and treats them with respect for any future purchases.

KC

Commented on April 11, 2013

Ive been a premium E cig user for almost 4 months now and first time writing a review of ecigs. First of all, thanks to ecigs I have quit after 15 long years of marlboro reds pack a day habit. My breath dont smell like an ashtray and I can run without fainting.

The PROS: great case that came with the two ecigs. Great pricing on refils. Wide variety of flavors and nicotine levels to choose from.

The CONS: 1 out of 3-4 new refils are faulty. Something about the faulty ones does not generate much vapor. Maybe 20-40% vapor production from the faulty refils and trust me its not the battery charge issue. Ive also come across 3 completely dead refils that dont work at all as well. I didnt bother calling customer service but it does make me think twice each time i come across these lemons.

I would probably give this product another month or two and if the quality does not improve then I would most likely move to other ecigs. There are so many other company’s with good reviews. I also got 6 other people to use this brand and hearing the same issues. So be wary of the quality of the product.

Azure

Commented on March 24, 2013

I’ve been using Premium for 2 years. I must find another company though.

In a 5 pack flavor cartridge box you can expect to frequently find a faulty one. By faulty I mean worthless! More often than not I don’t even bother to request a replacement due to the extremely poor customer service response. Do they honestly believe their product is without fault? If so, they’re delusional!

Most recently I bought 3 disposables, & within about 20 puffs the first one I opened quit! The thought of contacting them sickens me, because I know from past experiences I’ll have to hear them tell me that I likely did something wrong.